Halfkinds Volume 1: Contact (15 page)

“And you, too, Iris?” Tiago asks
her.

“Yes.  You know I go where my
brother goes,” she says.

His face changes from a stupefied
stare to a dark glare.  “If that’s what you two want, then so be it.  We don’t
need you anyway.”

He raises his arm and points to
the exit.

“All of you, get out of here,
you’re not welcome anymore,” he says.

“But where will they go?” Candy
asks in a concerned tone.

“There’s another abandoned
building near here,” Maddie says.  “It used to be a casino, the Spades and
Diamonds Casino, but I don’t think it’s been in business for quite some time,
at least a year.  I used to sneak out there, they have a lot of neat things,
even if it is dusty and abandoned, I think we can hide there until you figure
out what we should do next, Oscar.”

I look at Maddie, and nod
supportively.  “Sounds good, Maddie.  I guess that’s where we’ll be heading.”

The four of us make our rounds and
offer our goodbyes to the rest of the family.  Some of them, like Candy and Ace
greet our farewells warmly.  Alex doesn’t shake my hand when I offer it to
him.  Curtis gives a curt nod to me and I nod back.

I then walk up to Tiago and look
at him eye to eye.  He doesn’t move a muscle and glowers straight back at me.

“I guess this is good bye then,” I
say.  I offer my hand out as we continue our stare down.  He holds his stance
and doesn’t move an inch.

“I guess so,” he says.  “Good luck
to you.”

“You too, brother.”

We gather our things and walk to
the exit.  I take one quick glance behind me and look at the brothers and
sister I leave behind.  No one sees it, but a small tear rolls down my eye.

If only we could have stayed a
family.

November 16, 3040
10:55 PM

We walk in the darkness and remain
quiet as we follow Maddie’s lead.  I think about why we’re on the run in the
first place.

Our mother didn’t teach us much
when we were younger, but she made sure we learned two things: history and why
we were different.  I’m not sure if the others paid attention, or if they had
any fascination about animal history, but I sure did.

We are half human, half something
else.  In the eyes of the leaders of the world, we shouldn’t exist.  They can’t
decide what we are - abominations, the next step of evolution, or a new species.

All of the animals have something
to fear about us, but as I think about it, I suppose the humans have the most
to lose.  They have co-existed with intelligent species for some time, dividing
land and power among themselves.  And I think we represent the threat of a new
power, one that would ruin what little balance exists.  I suppose that’s why
whoever is in charge needs to kill us.  They fear that we would join the fight
for power and there’s no more room for sharing.

There was a time when nothing was
shared, when the one and only ruler of the Earth were the humans.

In the early twenty third century,
humans had reached the pinnacle of their development.  They had doubled their
lifespan.  The technological advances of teleportation and terraforming were
going into full swing.  Artificial resources were being perfected, lowering
starvation, crime, and poverty on a global scale.  Cities were becoming larger and
more decadent.  They flourished in ways they only dreamed of a few hundred
years before that.

More importantly, they had
achieved something that had eluded them for a long time - a lasting peace. 
Humans had united on a worldwide front.  Political arguing and threats of war
were non-existent.  Countries worked together more than ever before, seeing
each other not as people of different colors and customs, but as one in the
same: a member of the human race.  A universal language had formed and it broke
down any barriers that existed.  They were no longer a species divided among
nations, but a species unified under one front.

And thus, many of the arms were
disassembled.  All their weapons of mass destruction were put out of
commission.  They used to have fears that a nuclear war would end the world,
but there was no need to worry about that anymore.  The minutes to midnight were gone.

Yet, they still had problems. 
Earth was becoming more and more toxic by the pollution that ravaged it.  Thus
they made powerful initiatives to clean up their planet, spending all their
assets on this goal.

With a flurry of resources and
manpower, humans were able to restore much of the environment that they had
destroyed within a few decades.  Technological advances reduced the waste that
previous generations built up.  Non-pollutant energy sources were the only
forms of power.  Lost habitats were regrown thanks to advanced aging
techniques.  The ozone layer was strengthened thanks to chemical experiments
that fortified it.  Since they didn’t have their conflicts to distract them,
humans could focus on cleaning up the mess they made.

By the mid twenty third century,
the planet had blossomed back to its environmental prime, owing its bloom to
the ingenuity of human beings.  It was these methods that allowed the humans to
terraform the Moon much quicker than they had estimated, and it was these
methods that restored the Earth to its peak condition.  Mother Nature was easy
to fix because it lacked its own will.  The creatures they shared the Earth
with were a different story.

More animals were on the
endangered list than ever before.  Whole groups of species, not just specific
breeds or subsets, were on the verge of disappearing from the Earth.  Gorillas,
rhinos, crocodiles, and lions were a few on the short list that faced
extinction if the humans did not act fast.

This was unacceptable to them. 
They had conquered their environmental issue, it was now time for them to take
on the task of getting these animals off the endangered list.

There was a problem, though - the
creatures weren’t breeding.  Gorillas, rhinos, crocodiles, lions, and a bevy of
other endangered animals didn’t know how few of them were left.  How could
they?  Thus, they had no reason to procreate at a rapid pace.

Scientists, biologists, and
zoologists tried everything to get these animals to breed.  They tried
artificial pheromones that supposedly increased their reproductive drive, but
it was unsuccessful.  They tried studying mating patterns and applied all their
understanding of different animal customs in hopes that they would repopulate
their kind, but that also failed.  They even tried cloning techniques, but
experts recognized it was a behavioral issue and that cloning would only be a crutch
if the drive wasn’t there to procreate.

There were many theories as to why
these endangered species were breeding less and less.  Some say that years and
years of being exposed to the pollutants in the air caused shifts in hormonal
development, thus reducing their drive to copulate.  Others say that since the
world around them changed so much, from the advances of humans, they were
overwhelmed and didn’t reproduce.  Some think they just gave up their fight to
exist.

Whatever the case, both the humans
and the animals were on the edge.  Then a breakthrough initiative was made by
the powers that be.  In most circles, it was believed that the problem was a
behavioral issue, so what if you change the way animals behave with a boost of
intelligence?  When a creature is aware of the danger they are in, they react. 
The problem was that these endangered species didn’t know they were in danger,
but if you made them understand their situation, they would proactively do
something.  A bit of intelligence would give the animals this drive.  Let the
animals know they needed to make offspring or it could be the end of their
kind.

Naturally, this caused a load of
controversy among humans.  People were worried it would lead to the downfall of
their kind.  Humans got to where they were because of their intelligence, if
you give it to other animals what would stop them from becoming the rulers of
the world?  From the way things are today, their fears were justified.

Others didn’t know if such an
outrageous plan was necessary.  If these animals couldn’t do it on their own,
maybe it was nature’s way of letting them go.  Was destroying the balance worth
it if extinction was part of the plan anyway?

Yet, a typical human trait was
confidence and, at the time, they had an over-abundance of it.  They had cured
most diseases, brought peace among themselves, and restored the environment to
its former glory.  They believed what they were doing was good and their
accomplishments backed up their claim.  Leading animals to extinction was not
something they were going to allow.

They also thought they had things
under control.  Their intention was not to make animals super intelligent, but intelligent
enough for their cause.  They would still be primitive in nature, still rely on
their survival instincts, and would lack any true knowledge, or so they
hypothesized.

The leaders assured the world
there would be no threat to humanity.  Never in a million years did the humans
see an Earth where animals would be speaking their language, engaging in their
government, and be seen as their equals.

Riding on their earlier success,
they overlooked any possible risks and went forward with the plan.  It took
some time to unlock the properties of intelligence boosting, but after twenty
years or so of research, they were ready to begin testing.  By the year 2285,
The Ark Project began its mission to slightly raise the intelligence of
endangered species and have them repopulate the Earth.

The first Ark Project was
dedicated for testing only, picking animals that were in no real threat of
dying.  They chose five groups of species, four of them, dogs, cats, pigs, and
cows, were domesticated animals.  These animals were chosen because they
already had above average intelligence and were easy to obtain.  The other
species they tested was a chimp.  Though not as tamed as the others, their
mental acumen was something that was sought after.

The first Ark Project was
intensive with many tests and developments.  And throughout all the trials they
conducted, the people on the Ark Project noticed that progress was being made. 
Animals were being brought in by the thousands.  The dogs and cats responded
and learned commands much faster than their untested counterparts.  The same
went for the other animals as well.

The animals showed no sign of
super intelligence at first.  They adapted and figured things out impressively,
but they weren’t even close to being as smart as the dumbest humans on Earth. 
The results were still remarkable, though.  Scientists studied these animals
and put their brains to the test.  Eventually, they were able to train animals
to do advanced things, including breeding.

The project was considered a
success and plans were being made to conduct phase two, which would be exposure
to endangered species.  This time, they would select nine groups of animals
deemed to be at risk for extinction.  Different breeds of wolves, gorillas,
lions, eagles, rhinos, crocodiles, bears, elephants, and tigers were brought in
for intelligence boosting.

Meanwhile, the animals of phase
one were done with their clinicals and would be released back to their natural
environments.  This was the beginning of the downfall for the humans.  They
were so busy with phase two that they failed to thoroughly monitor the phase
one tests subjects.  If they did, they would have seen that these animals were
still growing smarter and smarter as time passed.  In a matter of years, they
became as smart as humans, right under their noses.

But for their part, the phase one
animals were quite tight-lipped about their newfound mental capabilities.  They
had become aware enough to know the destructive nature of mankind and kept
their abilities under wraps.  They knew they would be killed if they showed a
slight hint of their super intelligence.  Thus, they formed a secret society of
phase one animals and gave the outward appearance of ignorance to hide what
they really were.  The intelligent groups also reproduced, increasing their
numbers and spreading their intelligence to the next generations.

Fifteen years later, towards the
beginning of the twenty fourth century, phase two had completed.  The nine
endangered species were much smarter than they originally were.  They were
still held under captivity, so scientists could monitor the rate of their repopulation,
but things were improving.  The procreation rate within the small subgroup of
animals they held was slowly increasing.

Just like the phase one animals,
the phase two animals also grew smarter than the humans had anticipated.  Just
like the phase one animals, they kept this all cloak-and-dagger for the same
reasons.  And like the phase one animals, the formed their own secret society.

One hundred years later, by 2400,
the animals of phase two had swelled to a numerous mass.  The Ark Project was
considered a success and it was ready to move into phase three, reintroducing
these animals to their natural habitats so that they could thrive and return
things to the way they were.  By 2420, phase two animals were living on their
own in special, adapted habitats

The secret society of phase one
animals covertly communicated with the secret society of phase two animals for
the next twenty years, sharing information between the species.  It was
primitive by all means, with eagles relaying information between groups.  But
by 2440, there were super intelligent animals pretending to be savage, living
among humans.

For the dogs, cats, and chimps,
maintaining this secrecy was easy.  They were treated by their human
counterparts well and had no reason to shed light on their gifts.  For the cows
and pigs, it was harder.  They were still a source of food for the humans, and
there were many times when they wanted to rebel.  But they stayed tough.  When
the cattle watched them go into the slaughterhouses, they kept their act for
the sake of keeping appearances.  They waited for the day of rebellion, and
with plans being formulated between the phase one and two animals, that day
would come soon.